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AGRICULTURAL ISSUES
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STATISTICS
Three major statistics that provide an overview of the state of a
particular crop type are the production per year, the area covered by the
cultivation of the crop and the yield in terms of the amount of crop
obtained per unit area. The primary food crop categories grown in India
are fine grains (composed mainly of rice and wheat), coarse grains(
consisting of such as millet, ragi,etc), pulses(consisting of the various
kinds of grams) and oilseeds(such as sunflower, castor, mustard,etc)
Coarse grains have typically been the staple food of the subsistence
population while pulses provide the protein requirements for the entire
population.

The graph showing the variation in
total area
under various crop categories clearly
shows how the area dedicated to pulses and coarse grains has actually
fallen since
the start of the Green Revolution. This clearly indicates the shift in
cropping patterns
brought about by a lopsided agricultural policy that concentrated in fits
on rice, wheat
and oilseeds. The figures also show that the area under oilseeds have
actually stagnated
over the past 10 years and even shows a slight downward trend in the last
year,

The variation in yield of the
major crop categories
also shows how policies affect production. The Green Revolution has
resulted in
a spurt in the yields of rice and wheat. The yield in coarse grains has
seen an increase
but this has totally been offset by the reduction in area under these
crops. The yield
of oilseeds saw a sudden increase when the government shifted focus to
this area
in the late 80s by forming an oilseed technology mission. The variation in
the
yield of pulses has been dismal and has barely registered a change over
the past
50 years.

The variation in production of these
major crop categories
shows the result of the changes in the yield and area. The production of
rice and wheat
has seen a continual and impressive rise while the production of pulses
and coarse
grains has stagnated and is starting to fall. The production of oilseeds,
which increased
as a result of policy intervention, is also starting to fall.

All these figures show that dryland agriculture in India is in the midst
of a serious crisis.
As the population of the country has risen steadily, the production of
essential
crops that provide the essential nutrition and that are the staple of the
poor,
has steadily been declining.